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Sorrento Writers Festival PDF Free Download

Sorrento Writers Festival PDF free Download. Think more deeply and widely.

2023

April 27—30

Welcome to the inaugural Sorrento Writers Festival.

Our four-day gathering of great ideas in the beautiful

seaside town of Sorrento runs from Thursday

April 27 to Sunday April 30. More than 140 writers,

academics, journalists, publishers, thinkers and

creators will appear across 90+ events in Sorrento

and Portsea.

In Australia, we are blessed with some brilliant

literary events. 2023 kicked o with terriﬁc festivals

in Perth and Adelaide, and soon it will be Melbourne,

Sydney and Brisbane’s turn. Byron Bay is in August,

and in-between we have gatherings around regional

Victoria, including Bendigo, Queenscli, Port Fairy

and Dunkeld.

Into this space comes the Sorrento Writers Festival.

Our ambitions are vast, and our goals focused: we

want our annual four-day gathering to be a beacon

for year-round Mornington Peninsula literary

activities. We want to bring writers and readers

together. We want to host amazing discussions that

fuel imaginations and creativity. We want people to

feel safe in a room where views are respected, and

everyone is listened to and welcomed.

Our new cultural organisation has a mission:

Sorrento has no library and so we plan to establish

one. Also, many children on the Mornington Peninsula

struggle with reading and learning. We want to work

with local organisations to provide funds and help

improve literacy among our children.

But ﬁrst, we have a festival to launch. And the

excitement is palpable. Writers want to come here.

Book lovers want to meet their author heroes.

Everyone wants to be a part of this beautiful community

– a place where bay and ocean come together.

Some of Australia’s ﬁnest thinkers and creators

are coming to Sorrento, and they’re ready to chat.

None of this would be possible without the ﬁnancial

assistance of many generous individuals, families

and businesses and we thank them for their support.

We also thank the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council,

the supporter of our Saturday Words & Music event via

its annual Drift Arts Festival. (And we acknowledge

The Sorrento Writers Festival takes place on the

land of the Boon Wurrung people, members of the

great Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to Elders

past, present and emerging, and acknowledge the

traditional lands of Monmar and its many sacred

sites on the Mornington Peninsula.

sorrentowritersfestival.com.au

Share your moments at #sorrentowf2023

@sorrentowritersfestival

sorrentowritersfestival

@SorrentoWritFes

Welcome

sorrentowritersfestival.com.ausorrentowritersfestival.com.au

the generosity of our friends at The Portsea Camp

who have so enthusiastically provided their venue

for the night.) Our Festival is fortunate to have the

support of many local businesses and community

organisations plus an incredible band of volunteers.

We thank everyone for their amazing donations of

money, time, venues, resources and expertise.

A special thank you to The Balnaves Foundation

which, from day one, understood what we wanted

to create in Sorrento. The Foundation’s immense

ﬁnancial gift allows our Festival to live beyond 2023.

We are hugely grateful.

Thank you, also, to The Continental and

InterContinental for generously providing our Festival

Hub event spaces, and rooms for writer guests.

Our Festival has a wise Committee of Management,

extraordinary Patrons, a dedicated Friends of the

Festival group, hard-working volunteers, and talented

specialists including General Manager Gianna Totaro,

Geo Slattery, Eileen Berry, Michael Dunkley, Kate

Slattery, Jasmin Tulk and Project Hutton. You grabbed

the baton and ran with it. Big hugs and thank you.

Time to get this party started! We hope you’ll join us.

Corrie Perkin

Director,

Sorrento Writers Festival

Welcome

KAYBURTON.COM.AU

EXPERIENCE

KNOWLEDGE

RELATIONSHIPS

PEOPLE

It is a thrill to welcome the

Sorrento Writers Festival

to Australia’s cultural

landscape.

As a keen reader,

occasional writer and

Mornington Peninsula

resident, I am so grateful

that the team behind

this great event chose

the Southern Mornington Peninsula to host this

exciting event.

The community has embraced the idea of a literary

festival: from the local primary school, to local volunteer

organisations, as well as our world-class food and

hospitality venues, all are engaged in festival events.

The school children at Sorrento Primary School and

St Joseph’s Primary School are excited so many

wonderful children’s book authors are coming to visit.

And our local bookworms are ready for four days

of stimulating discussions and a chance to meet

some of their favourite authors.

From award-winning ﬁction writers to historians

and anthropologists, to extraordinary thinkers

and community leaders, political commentators,

First Nations storytellers, award-winning journalists,

celebrated ﬁlm-makers, children’s authors and

illustrators, musicians and songwriters … the Sorrento

Writers Festival will have something for everyone.

I congratulate Director Corrie Perkin and her team

for all they have achieved. More than 90 events

and 140 speakers – it is a big project, and such

an exciting one. I wish the inaugural Sorrento

Writers Festival every success and to this

becoming a staple part of the Sorrento seasons!

Zoe McKenzie MP

Federal Member of Parliament

for the seat of Flinders.

Message from Zoe McKenzie MP Contents

WHAT'S ON

HOTEL SORRENTO

SCAN TO FIND

OUT MORE

WEEKEND BOTTOMLESS BRUNCHES

YUM CHA SUNDAYS

EASTER SUNDAY LUNCH

GREEK EASTER CELEBRATION

ACCOMMODATION PACKAGES

Director’s Welcome 3

Message from Zoe McKenzie MP 4

Events map 6-7

Our Children’s Program 8

Thursday highlights 9

Thursday April 27 Program 10-11

Friday highlights 12

Friday April 28 Program 14-15

Saturday highlights 16

Saturday April 29 Program 18-19

searoad.com.au

Set sail to your

next chapter...

Cross the bay from Sorrento to

Queenscli from $16

Sunday highlights 20

Sunday April 30 Program 22-23

Speakers and Moderators 24-42

Ofﬁcial bookstore 43

Festival patrons 44

Donors 46

Friends of the Festival 48

Sponsors 49

Where to Stay/Eat/Shop 50

Merchandise 51

Festival team 52

Image: Finn Whelen (Unsplash)

Message from Zoe McKenzie MP

Contents

Point Nepean Rd

Back Beach Rd

Hotham Rd Hotham Rd

Ocean Beach Rd

Morce Ave

Oxford Rd

Darling Ave

Kerferd Ave

Newton Ave

Coppin Rd

St Pauls Rd

Melbourne Rd

Hotham Rd

Franklin Rd

Campbells Rd

Franklin Rd

Sorrento — Queenscli ferry

01 01

06 05

Sorrento Ferry stop

*Locations are indicative, please check exact location yourself

Aegean Gallery

The Portsea Camp

Portsea Surf Life Saving Club

Sorrento Golf Club

Sorrento Bowls Club

Sorrento Community Centre

The Continental Hotel

Antipodes

Sorrento Museum

The Baths

St Joseph’s Primary School

Sorrento Primary School

Montalto

Aegean Gallery

Portsea Surf Life

Saving Club

St Joseph’s

Primary School

Montalto

Winery (30km)

The Portsea

Camp

Sorrento Primary

School

Community Centre

Sorrento

Golf Club

Sorrento

Bowls Club

The Baths

Sorrento

Museum

The Continental Sorrento

Hotel Sorrento

Accommodation

Places to eat

Festival venues

Places to get coffee

Itali.co Sorrento

Bistro Elba

Back Beach Pizza

Sardo Sorrento

Audrey’s

Limani Café Winebar

Places to shop

Bookshop

Gifts & Homewares

Fashion

Antipodes Gallery & Bookshop

Avenue Bookstore Festival Pop-Up

Cape Merchants (Sorrento Writers Festival Merchandise Store)

Cape Outdoor

Coastal Living

Big Chair Living Sorrento Provincial Home Living

Debs Boutique

Emia Fashion

Herman Store Sorrento

Cable Melbourne

Cross Classics Sorrento

Viktoria & Woods Sorrento

Husk Sorrento

Country Road - Sorrento

Saltwater Trading

Sorrento Collective

The Sisters Kitchen

Garden Cafe

Baked in Portsea

Buckley Sorrento

Stringers Sorrento

St Pauls General Store

Flat Blk

Le Capucin

Halcyon Hall /

The Ballroom /

The Gallery

Antipodes Gallery & Bookshop

Events map

Contents

Events map

Speakers and Moderators Thursday highlights

Plotters or Pantsers?

How novel writers plan

their stories – or ﬂy by

the seat of their pants

THURSDAY APRIL 27

4pm-5pm

The Grand Ballroom

Continental Hotel

Toni Jordan, Simon Rowell and

Jock Serong with Hannie Rayson (M)

Some ﬁction writers prepare their stories

using vast numbers of ﬁles with titles like

‘Characters’ and ‘Locations’. Some ﬁll their

study walls with post-it notes. Others turn

on their laptops and start writing – line

one, chapter one. Their novels spill forth

in stream-of-consciousness style.

Playwright Hannie Rayson is fascinated

how other writers write. In this session,

she will ask three best-selling authors

whether they plot with precision or ﬂy

by the seat of their pants.

Our Children’s Program

On Thursday April 27 and

Friday April 28, the Sorrento

Writers Festival’s Children’s

Program will be held at the

Sorrento Primary School

and St Joseph’s Primary School.

Our 14 visiting authors will run

sessions with children between

9am and 3pm over the two days.

We are thrilled to be supported in this venture by

individual donors who believe in the power of books

to change children’s lives. Books provoke discussions,

they improve literacy, they inspire creativity and they

make children more curious about the world around

them. They are our most valuable learning and teaching

tools and we are grateful to our donors, and also to

our friends at Sorrento Primary School and St Joseph’s

Primary School, for working with us on this project.

In particular, we acknowledge the donation of

Rosemary and David Geer to our Children’s Program.

Their friendship and support mean a great deal, and

we know they share our excitement in the Festival’s

potential to enhance literacy and learning on our

Mornington Peninsula.

In future years, we will grow our children’s program

to include weekend activities, family events, writing

workshops for children, and sessions for teenagers

and secondary school students. But it is year one

and we are taking baby steps. We can’t wait to

see what happens next.

Appearing at our Children’s Festival over these

two exciting days are (in alphabetical order):

Marita Bullock, Jane Godwin, Joan-Maree Hargreaves,

Megan Hess, Soﬁe Laguna, Andrew McDonald,

Amelia Mellor, Jess Racklyeft, Sally Rippin, Andrea

Rowe, Tai Snaith, Zeno Sworder and Ben Wood.

We thank Antipodes Bookshop for supporting

the children’s program and we encourage all

Sorrento families to visit the bookshop, purchase

copies, and stay connected with Antipodes’

year-round programs.

Let the fun begin!

Corrie Perkin

Director

Sorrento Writers Festival

PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

For updates visit sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/program/

In Conversation – via Zoom

British author Sarah Winman

chats with Caroline Wilson

THURSDAY APRIL 27

8am-9am

Halcyon Hall,

Continental Hotel

Celebrated British novelist Sarah Winman joins us from

her London home to discuss her life, her work and her

writing process. The author of When God Was A Rabbit,

Tin Man, A Year of Marvellous Ways and the 2021

international bestseller Still Life will join award-winning

journalist (and Sarah Winman fan) Caroline Wilson for

our special Festival kick-o event. Bring your coee and

croissant and join us for this fabulous Zoom gathering.

From Cradle to Grave

How to inspire children

to become lifelong readers

THURSDAY APRIL 27

11.30am-12.30pm

Halcyon Hall,

Continental Hotel

Jane Godwin, Megan Hess and Sally Rippin,

with Corrie Perkin (M)

One of our Festival’s missions is to improve literacy

among children and teenagers in our community. In this

session, Festival Director Corrie Perkin discusses, with

three best-selling children’s authors, the joys of creating

books for young readers, but also the challenges adults

face in nurturing a love of books among young family

members. This important discussion is supported by the

Geer Family and the Mornington Peninsula Foundation.

Image: Adam Winger (Unsplash)

Image: Aaron Burden (Unsplash)

For all Festival book purchases and author signings, please visit Avenue Bookstore

at Sorrento Writers Festival Level One, The Continental Hotel, Sorrento / avenuebookstore.com.au

Thursday highlights

Our Children’s Program

Thursday April 27 Thursday April 27

Venue Halcyon Hall

(THE CONTINENTAL SORRENTO)

The Grand Ballroom

(THE CONTINENTAL SORRENTO)

Barlow

(THE CONTINENTAL SORRENTO)

Time

8.30am—

9.30am

In Conversation

Sarah Winman with Caroline Wilson (M)

(Please note: this is a zoom event )

10am—

11am

The Healing Power of Food

Charlotte Ree and Annie Smithers

with Celia Hirsh (M)

Art and the Australian Story: How artists have captured the

spirit of a nation

Jane Clark, Marie Geissler and Ray Gill with Corrie Perkin (M)

Quiet Quitting, the Great Resignation and the Future of Work

Debbie Haski-Leventhal, Andrew Wear and Kristine Ziwica

with Samantha Lane (M)

11.30am—

12.30pm

From Cradle to Grave: How To Inspire Children

To Become Lifelong Readers

Jane Godwin, Megan Hess and Sally Rippin with Corrie Perkin (M)

This event is proudly supported by the

Mornington Peninsula Foundation

The Venice Connection:

70 years of Australian art at the Venice Biennale

Kerry Gardner, Marie Geissler, Alison Inglis and Patricia Piccinini

with Fiona Gruber (M)

It’s All Relative: How To Write Your Own History

Primrose Bright, Stephen Shelmerdine and Marigold, Lady Southey

with Michael Shmith (M)

1pm—

2pm

The Turning Point: Finding The Courage To Change Your Life

Mary Ryllis Clark, Debbie Haski-Leventhal, and

Annie Smithers with Hannie Rayson (M)

Port Phillip Bay, the Mornington Peninsula and Its Impact On Artists

Jane Clark, Jane Eckett, Alison Inglis and Patricia Macdonald with Michael

Cathcart (M)

From the Hip Podcast Session: Why do so Many Modern Women

Shun the ‘F’ Word

Jane Caro, Charlotte Ree and Kristine Ziwica with podcast hosts

Mish Eisen and Kathy Lane (M)

2.30pm—

3.30pm

Meet The Writers

Garry Disher, Robert Gott and Simon Rowell with Corrie Perkin (M)

4pm—

5pm

It’s All About You: The Art of Writing Biography

Margaret Simons and Paddy Manning with Ramona Koval (M)

Plotters or Pantsers? How novel writers plan their stories

– or ﬂy by the seat of their pants

Toni Jordan, Simon Rowell and Jock Serong with Hannie Rayson (M)

> Restaurant

> Weddings

> Functions

thebaths.com.au

3278 Point Nepean Road, Sorrento

OCEAN BEACH YOGA

PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

For updates visit sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/program/

For all Festival book purchases and author signings, please visit Avenue Bookstore

at Sorrento Writers Festival Level One, The Continental Hotel, Sorrento / avenuebookstore.com.au

Founding

Partner

10 11

Thursday April 27

Speakers and Moderators

The Barry Jones

Oration

FRIDAY APRIL 28

5pm-5.45pm

The Grand Ballroom

Continental Hotel

Barry Jones AC

introduced by Ranald Macdonald AO

The inaugural Barry Jones Oration – to

be delivered each year by a distinguished

and respected Australian – will this year

be presented by the writer, activist,

former politician and ocial Australian

National Living Treasure, and the

inspiration for this annual talk: Barry

Jones. This is a free event. We hope

you’ll join us to celebrate Barry’s lifelong

commitment to education, science, social

justice, meaningful political discourse,

writing, books and music.

Our Political Leaders

The good, the bad

and the ones to watch

FRIDAY APRIL 28

12noon-2pm

The Baths Sorrento

3278 Point Nepean Road

Paddy Manning, Niki Savva and Chris Wallace,

with Barrie Cassidy (M)

More than 100 collective years of observing and

reporting on Australia’s political leaders ensures our

panel’s credentials to discuss the topic of political

leadership. From Gough Whitlam and Don Chipp to the

leaders of today, our panel, moderated by veteran political

observer, Barrie Cassidy, will assess political leadership

in all its forms.

In Conversation

- via Zoom

American

writer, poet

and academic

Honorée

Fanonne

Jeffers with

Celia Hirsh

THURSDAY APRIL 27

8.30am-9.30am

Halcyon Hall

Continental Hotel

In August 2021, the debut

novel by celebrated African-

American poet Professor

Honorée Fanonne Jeers

arrived in bookstores across

the USA and Australia.

Despite its 816 pages,

The Love Songs of W.E.B.

Du Bois found its adoring

fans, including Oprah

Winfrey, and our host for

this Zoom event, journalist

Celia Hirsh.

Friday highlights

PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

For updates visit sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/program/

Friday highlights

Friday April 28 Friday April 28

Venue Halcyon Hall

(THE CONTINENTAL SORRENTO)

The Grand Ballroom

(THE CONTINENTAL SORRENTO)

The Gallery

(THE CONTINENTAL SORRENTO)

Sorrento

Museum

The

Baths Antipodes Bookshop

Time

8.30am—

9.30am

In Conversation

Honorée Fanonne Jeers

with Celia Hirsh (M)

(Please note: this is a zoom event )

The Family Drama and Why We Love Them

André Dao, Jacinta Halloran, Toni Jordan

and Kylie Ladd with Samantha Lane (M)

10am—

11am

After #metoo: Have We Changed?

What Have We Learned?

Jane Caro, Kate Legge, Sarah Malik and

Zoya Patel with Yvonne Hackett (M)

My Life As A Book:

The Art of Writing Memoir

Peter Doherty, Ramona Koval, Sian Prior

and Jayne Tuttle with Hannie Rayson (M)

Domestic Noir, Outback

Crime And Things That

Go Bump In the Night #1

Garry Disher, Robert Gott

and Sarah Schmidt with

Jock Serong (M)

11.30am—

12.30pm

Heat, Dust, Beaches and Blow Flies:

The Impact of Landscape

on Australian Writing

Soﬁe Laguna, Megan Rogers and

Chris Hammer with Jaclyn Crupi (M)

Romantic Novels in a #metoo World

Jane Caro, Toni Jordan, Saman Shad

and Clara Tuite with Fiona Gruber (M)

Telling War Stories

Paul Daley and Michael

Veitch with Michael

Cathcart (M)

12 noon-2pm:

Our Political Leaders:

The Good, The Bad and

the Ones To Watch

Lunch with Niki Savva,

Paddy Manning

and Chris Wallace

with Barrie Cassidy (M)

1pm—

2pm

In Conversation

Peter Doherty with Ramona Koval (M)

Put Us In The Room Where It Happens:

Women and Leadership

Julia Banks, Kirstin Ferguson, Zoya Patel and

Margaret Simons with Kerry Gardner (M)

Writers and Their

Imaginations. Where Do Your

Amazing Ideas Come From?

Chris Flynn, Kylie Ladd and

Jock Serong with Ray Gill (M)

2.30pm—

3.30pm

In Celebration Of Tasmania:

The Impact of Place and People

On Our Writing

Marita Bullock, Joan-Maree Hargreaves

and Jock Serong with Heather Ewart (M)

Russel Howcroft Meets

The New Novelists

Rijn Collins, André Dao and Rhett Davis

with Russel Howcroft (M)

Domestic Noir, Outback

Crime And Things

That Go Bump In the

Night #2

Jacinta Halloran, Chris

Hammer and Christine

Keighery with Michael

Shmith (M)

4pm—

5pm

What Does Good Leadership Look Like

Kirstin Ferguson, Simon Holmes  Court

and Chris Wallace with Julia Banks (M)

3.30pm-4.30pm

Is Sportswriting a

Dying Art Form?

Andrew Rule and Don Watson

with Corrie Perkin (M)

Meet The Writers

Soﬁe Laguna and Kirsty

Manning with Ramona

Koval (M)

5pm—

5.45pm

The Barry Jones Oration

Barry Jones, introduced by Ranald Macdonald

(This is a free event) (This event is fully booked)

7pm-9pm

Story Slam

with Jane Hone

$25 (includes wine etc)

A Story Slam is an open-mic oral

storytelling event where anyone can

put their hand up and share a true,

ﬁve-minute story relating to them.

This event is organised

by our friends at Antipodes

Bookshop.

Scan the QR code

to book:

5.45—6pm Presentation of the Sorrento Creative Writing

Prize.

This $5000 prize is sponsored by Future Leaders

6pm—7pm Tal k i ng Fo ot y

Eddie McGuire, Peter Rose, Mike Sheahan

and Caroline Wilson with Samantha Lane (M)

7pm-9.30pm Literary Trivia Night

Hosted by Brian Nankervis

(Due to Early Bird ticket sales,

this event has SOLD OUT)

Bookings via

QR code

PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

For updates visit sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/program/

For all Festival book purchases and author signings, please visit Avenue Bookstore

at Sorrento Writers Festival Level One, The Continental Hotel, Sorrento / avenuebookstore.com.au

Founding

Partner

14 15

Friday April 28

Words & Music

Co-presented by the

Drift Arts Festival and

Sorrento Writers Festival

SATURDAY APRIL 29

6pm-9pm

The Portsea Camp

3074 Point Nepean Road, Portsea

Our evening begins with First Nations writer Thomas

Mayo reciting the Uluru Statement From the Heart.

At 6.30pm Melbourne singer, musician, songwriter

and producer Rebecca Barnard, accompanied by

guitarist Peter Farnan, will perform the songs of

Joni Mitchell. At 8pm, after a brief interval, Monique

diMattina and her musicians (a string quartet, a punk

band, and singers Alma Zygier and Rebecca Barnard)

will perform songs from Stella, Monique’s new musical

based on the life of Australian literary lion and

international feminist Miles Franklin.

We are grateful for the support of the Drift Arts

Festival and the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council.

Regional Australia and

the climate change crisis

SATURDAY APRIL 29

2.30pm-3.30pm

Sorrento Bowls Club,

David MacFarlan Reserve, Hotham Road, Sorrento

Simon Holmes à Court, Jack Rush AO RFD KC,

Dr Emma Shortis and Sam Vincent with

Michael Cathcart (M)

Our panel includes a bushﬁres Royal Commission Counsel,

a farmer, a regional climate transition expert, a First Nations

environmentalist and a political activist. Their discussion

will provoke alarm, while educating and enlightening.

Not to be missed.

Saturday highlights

In Conversation

To m

Keneally AO

with Jason

Steger

SATURDAY APRIL 29

11.30am-12.30pm

Sorrento Museum

840 Melbourne Road, Sorrento

One Booker Prize.

Two Miles Franklin awards.

An Australian National

Living Treasure. A Literary

Lion of the New York Public

Library. A Fellow of the

American Academy.

That’s Tom Keneally!

The author of 40 novels

and numerous non-ﬁction

works, 87-year- old Tom

Keneally AO is still writing

books. With Age literary

editor Jason Steger in

the interviewer’s chair,

we expect this “In

Conversation” will be

a Festival highlight.

PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

For updates visit sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/program/

Saturday highlights

Saturday April 29 Saturday April 29

For all Festival book purchases and author signings, please visit Avenue Bookstore

at Sorrento Writers Festival Level One, The Continental Hotel, Sorrento / avenuebookstore.com.au

Venue Sorrento

Community Centre

Sorrento

Museum

Portsea Surf Life

Saving Club

Sorrento

Bowls Club

Sorrento

Golf Club

Aegean

Gallery

The Portsea

Camp

Time

8.30am—

9.30am

In Conversation

Graeme Base with

Ewan Burnett (M)

Sustainable Gardens and Me

Fiona Brockho, Tim Entwisle,

Lindy Shelmerdine and Sam

Vincent with Yvonne Hackett (M)

10am—

11am

In Conversation

Jane Harper

with Hannie Rayson (M)

Writers On Writing

Rijn Collins and Chris

Hammer with Irma Gold (M)

This is a free event but

bookings essential

The Sea, The Surf, The Ocean

– In Our Words

Eliza Henry-Jones, Gill Hutchinson,

Jock Serong and Michael Veitch

with Corrie Perkin (M)

USA Today: Toward

the 2024 Election

Emma Shortis, Cameron

Stewart and Don Watson

with Heather Ewart (M)

9.30am-10:30am

In Conversation

Allan Myers with

Tim L’Estrange (M)

Proudly sponsored by

John Rundell & Co

Free tea/coee from 9am.

11.30am—

12.30pm

When Your Story

Becomes A Movie

Ewan Burnett, Jane

Harper, Christos Tsiolkas

and Christian White with

Michael Cathcart (M)

Australian Fiction

Through First Nations Stories

Larissa Behrendt, Paul Daley and Jock

Serong with Inala Cooper (M)

Migration, Family,

Old Life/New Life

Armando Lucas Correa, André

Dao, Pirooz Jafari, andSaman

Shadwith Jaclyn Crupi (M)

In Conversation

Tom Keneally with

Jason Steger (M)

Lunch oerings will be on

sale.

1pm—

2pm

Politics 2023:

What Are The Big Issues?

Kerry O’Brien and Niki

Savva with Sally Warhaft

(M)

This is a co-production with

The Wheeler Centre.

In Conversation

Neil Balme and

Anson Cameron

with Samantha Lane (M)

1.30pm-2.30pm:

In Conversation

Kate Legge with Ramona Koval (M)

A small shuttle is available at

the lifesaving club car park for anyone

with mobility issues

Making Science Sexy (and

Giving Humanities a Hug)

Peter Doherty, Tim Entwisle,

Barry Jones and

Julianne Schultz with

Michael Shmith (M)

Civility in the Age

of Unreason

Julia Banks, Inala Cooper

and Pirooz Jafari with Ray

Gill (M)

2.30pm—

3.30pm

Writing Historical Fiction

in a 21st Century World

Armando Lucas Correa,

Tom Keneally, Kirsty

Manning and Sarah Schmidt

with Fiona Gruber (M)

Celebrating the

Publishers: MUP,

Australia’s Oldest

University Publisher

Jim Davidson and

Stuart Kells with Ray Gill (M)

Book Clubs: Love Them, Hate Them,

And Why We Frequently Wag Them

Jane Caro, Stephen Lunn and Jason

Steger with Corrie Perkin (M)

Regional Australia and the

Climate Change Crisis

Jack Rush, Emma Shortis,

Sam Vincent and Simon

Holmes à Court

with Michael Cathcart (M)

3.30pm—

4.30pm

Why I Write Fiction

Chris Hammer, Eliza Henry-

Jones, Kylie Ladd and

Christian White with

Andrea Rowe (M)

The Politics of

the Book Review

Ramona Koval, Peter Rose

and Jason Steger

with Tim Byrne (M)

The Redfern Speech,

30 Years On

Inala Cooper, Larissa Behrendt,

Michael Lavarch and Thomas

Mayo with Paul Daley (M)

5pm—

6pm

Tribute to Clive James

Hannie Rayson and Michael

Cathcart

6.00pm—

6.30pm

DRIFT Arts Festival and

Sorrento Writers Festival

Present

Words & Music: A celebration

Uluru Statement from the

Heart

Thomas Mayo, introduced by

Corrie Perkin

6.30pm—

7.30pm Rebecca Barnard sings

the Songs of Joni Mitchell

8pm—

9pm

Stella, the Musical:

A work by Monique diMattina,

her musicians and singers

PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

For updates visit sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/program/

Founding

Partner

18 19

Saturday April 29

Our Principal, John Rundell, is a former

partner of KPMG Australia where he had

a specialist global practice role. While with

KPMG, Mr Rundell worked extensively in

Asia, Europe and the US. He has over

25 years of professional experience in

Merchant Banking and as a Chartered

Accountant. John also worked with the

Specialist Technology research rm

Gartner as a Vice President in Asia.

An accredited mediator and graded

arbitrator, he has been nominated

and appointed by Australian and

global institutions.

visit johnrundell.com

At John Rundell & Co,

we successfully resolve

business and legal disputes

by providing ecient,

cost-eective and impartial

ways of overcoming barriers

at any stage of conict.

We oer customised Alternate Dispute

Resolution services locally and globally

through industry-specic experience,

a high-resolution rate, and a highly

trained multi-disciplinary team.

From crisis to comeback:

Melbourne After

Lockdown and

Forever Changed

SUNDAY APRIL 30

9am-10am

Halcyon Hall,

Continental Hotel

Chip Le Grand, Nicholas Reece

and Cameron Stewart,

with Stephen Lunn (M)

Melbourne’s Deputy Lord Mayor

Nicholas Reece joins leading

journalists Chip Le Grand (The Age)

and Cameron Stewart (The Australian)

to discuss how our city and our

community have changed since

2020 – and how we might avoid

future catastrophic disruptions.

In Conversation

Craig Silvey

with Fiona

Gruber (M)

SUNDAY APRIL 30

10.30am-11.30am

& 3pm-4pm

Halcyon Hall & The Grand

Ballroom, Continental Hotel

The author of Jasper Jones,

West Australian writer Craig

Silvey joins us to discuss

his work, and also his new

Runt which last month won

the coveted Indie Book of

the Year award, presented

by Australia’s independent

booksellers. Runt was

Craig’s second Indie, after

Jasper Jones won in 2009.

Voice to Parliament:

A Discussion

SUNDAY APRIL 30

3pm-4pm

Halcyon Hall,

Continental Hotel

Marcia Langton AO, Thomas Mayo, Kerry O’Brien,

and Julianne Schultz AM with Patricia Karvelas (M)

In a year when all Australians over 18 must vote on the

Voice to Parliament referendum, our ﬁnal session of

the 2023 Sorrento Writers Festival oers audiences

a chance to reﬂect on the proposition before us.

We hope you will join us for this important session.

Sunday highlights

PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

For updates visit sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/program/

20 21

Sunday highlights

Sunday April 30 Sunday April 30

Sonder DJs & Events

Perfectly curated music for any occasion

www.sonderdjs.com.au

bookings@sonderdjs.com.au

@sonder_djs

Venue Halcyon Hall

(THE CONTINENTAL SORRENTO)

The Grand Ballroom

(THE CONTINENTAL SORRENTO)

The Gallery

(THE CONTINENTAL SORRENTO)

Sorrento

Museum

Time

9am—

10am

From Crisis to Comeback: Melbourne After

Lockdown and Forever Changed

Chip Le Grand, Nicholas Reece and

Cameron Stewart with Stephen Lunn (M)

The Power of Music, Art and Words

Barry Jones and Christos Tsiolkas

with Michael Shmith (M)

From Little Things Big Things Grow

Joëlle Gergis, Simon Holmes à Court and

Sam Vincent with Jaclyn Crupi (M)

10.30am—

11.30am

In Conversation

Craig Silvey with Fiona Gruber (M)

(This event is fully booked)

Telling Australian Stories On Screen

Ian Darling, Fred Schepisi and

Caroline Wilson with Hannie Rayson (M)

In Conversation

Alice Zaslavsky with Celia Hirsh (M)

Writers on Writing

Pip Drysdale, Hilde Hinton, Pirooz Jafari

and Ramona Koval with Irma Gold (M)

This is a free event but bookings essential

12 noon—

1pm

Wither The Newsroom? In a Platform-driven,

“Fake News”, Chat GPT World, Can Good

Journalism Survive?

Tim Burrowes, Sarah Malik, Eric Beecher and Cameron

Stewart with Heather Ewart (M)

Is Democracy Fragile?

Joëlle Gergis, Michael Lavarch,

Kerry O’Brien and Julianne Schultz

with Sally Warhaft (M)

Crime Is My Passion

Pip Drysdale, Chris Hammer

and Jock Serong with Chloe Hooper (M)

In Conversation

Don Watson with Paul Daley (M)

1.30pm—

2.30pm

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith

50 Years On

Fred Schepisi and Tom Keneally

with Barrie Cassidy (M)

Chat GPT: How Does It Change

the Way We Write? Will It Change

the Way We Read?

Tim Burrowes, Dave King and Mark Williams

with Jason Steger (M)

In Defence Of Women: When Will

the Sexism, Exploitation and Abuse Stop?

Jane Caro, Sarah Malik and Sarah Schmidt

with Samantha Lane (M)

3pm—

4pm

Voice To Parliament – A Discussion

Marcia Langton, Thomas Mayo, Kerry O’Brien and

Julianne Schultz, with Patricia Karvelas (M)

In Conversation

Craig Silvey with Fiona Gruber (M)

4.30pm—

5.30pm

FESTIVAL CONCLUDES

PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

For updates visit sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/program/

For all Festival book purchases and author signings, please visit Avenue Bookstore

at Sorrento Writers Festival Level One, The Continental Hotel, Sorrento / avenuebookstore.com.au

Founding

Partner

22 23

Sunday April 30

Speakers and Moderators

Primrose

Bright

Author and researcher

Primrose Danby Bright was

born in England and spent

her childhood in Malaya

and Canada. After meeting

her Australian husband,

Charles, Primrose settled

in Melbourne and Sorrento.

She is an honorary life

member of the NGVWA

and a former president

of the Melbourne French

language group, Les Amies

du Mercredi. The story

of her husband’s family,

which dates back to the

16th Century, has been her

research and writing passion

for more than 40 years.

Fiona

Brockhoff

Landscape designer

and author

Landscape designer and

Sorrento resident Fiona

Brockho has created

gardens across eastern

Australia’s coastal, regional

and urban areas. Fiona’s

gardens are characterised

by their simplicity, and

their relationship with the

built environment and

surrounding landscapes.

The strength of Fiona’s

planting design is

highlighted in With

Nature. The Landscapes

of Fiona Brockho,

(Hardie Grant 2022).

Eric Beecher

Media proprietor

Eric Beecher is the chairman

and co-founder of Private

Media, publisher of Crikey,

The Mandarin and Smart

Company, chairman of

Australian Communities

Foundation and a board

member of PIJI, the Public

Interest Journalism Initiative.

He has been an editor

and executive at Fairfax

and News Corp and was

co- founder of Text Media.

Eric was Founding Director

of The Wheeler Centre for

Books, Writing and Ideas.

Professor

Larissa

Behrendt AO

Lawyer, academic,

First Nations advocate,

ﬁlmmaker and writer

Larissa Behrendt is the

Distinguished Professor at

the University of Technology

Sydney and the Director of

Research and Academic

Programs Jumbunna

Institute of Indigenous

Education and Research.

She is also a ﬁlmmaker,

director and ﬁction and

non-ﬁction author. Her most

recent novel After Story was

longlisted for the 2022 Miles

Franklin Literary Award.

In 2009 Larissa was

awarded NAIDOC Person

of the Year and she was

the 2011 NSW Australian

of the Year.

Neil Balme

Former AFL footballer, coach

and administrator

Twice-premiership player

Neil Balme played with

Richmond from 1970-1979

before becoming coach of

SANFL side Norwood. In

the 1990s Neil moved to the

Melbourne Football Club as

head coach, then later was

appointed Collingwood’s

Head of Football. Neil

joined Geelong in 2007

and became an integral

part of the team’s three

premierships. Neil joined

Richmond as football

general manager in 2016

where the club has since

won three premierships His

2022 memoir Neil Balme:

A Tale of Two Men - written

with Melbourne writer Anson

Cameron – is a bestseller.

Julia Banks

Lawyer, former Federal

parliamentarian, author

As a corporate lawyer, Julia

has extensive experience

in the corporate and legal

sectors. She has served as

a Federal MP under Prime

Minister Malcolm Turnbull,

and then as an Independent

MP. Her memoir, Power Play:

Breaking Through Bias,

Barriers and Boys’ Clubs,

was published by Hardie

Grant in July 2021. Julia is

now an advisor and speaker

on equality , the workplace

and women’s rights.

Rebecca

Barnard

Singer, songwriter,

musician and producer

Rebecca Barnard comes

from a rich musical family

history. Her entire life has

been invested in music and

performance, with rock-pop

band Rebecca’s Empire

forming in 1993-2000 and

featuring regularly on the

Hottest 100 list. Rebecca

released her ﬁrst solo jazz

album, The Night We Called

It A Day, earlier this year.

She is a regular guest on

radio and TV.

Graeme Base

Children’s book author

and illustrator

Graeme Base is a world-

leading creator of picture

books. Animalia received

international acclaim when

ﬁrst published in 1986 and

has now sold more than

three million copies. The

book inspired an animated

TV series, has its own app

and is the ﬁrst oering in a

detailed digital education

program called The Graeme

Base Educational Suite.

Graeme received the 2007

Speech Pathology Book of

the Year (Younger Readers),

the 2007 Wilderness Society

Environment Award and

the 1989 Children’s Book

Council of Australia Picture

Book of the Year.

Our Speakers

and Moderators

For all Festival book purchases and author signings, please visit Avenue Bookstore

at Sorrento Writers Festival Level One, The Continental Hotel, Sorrento / avenuebookstore.com.au

Image: Tiraya Adam (Unsplash)

Our Speakers and Moderators

Speakers and Moderators Speakers and Moderators

Paul Daley

Writer and journalist

A two-time Walkley award-

winner and columnist for

Guardian Australia , Paul

is also a short story writer,

essayist and playwright. His

non-ﬁction books have been

shortlisted for the Prime

Minister’s History Prize,

the Manning Clark House

Awards, the Nib and the

ACT Book of the Year. His

new novel, Jesustown, was

published in 2022 by Allen

and Unwin.

André Dao

Writer, editor and artist

André Dao is a PhD

candidate at the Melbourne

Law School and a member

of the Institute for

International Law and the

Humanities. His ﬁrst novel

Anam, which has just been

published, won the 2021

Victorian Premier’s Literary

Award for an unpublished

manuscript. Andre’s writing

has appeared in Meanjin,

The Monthly, and The

Saturday Paper and he is

co-founder of Behind the

Wire, an oral history project

documenting the stories

of adults and children

detained by the Australian

government after seeking

asylum in Australia.

Armando

Lucas Correa

Writer, journalist and editor

Cuban-born, New York-

based writer Armando

Lucas Correa’s latest

novel, The Night Travelers

was published in January

2023. His 2016 novel

The German Girl was an

international bestseller and

has been translated into 16

languages. Armando moved

to New York in 1997, as a

senior writer at People en

Español magazine. He has

been recognized with The

Humanity of Connection

Award and as Journalist of

the Year by the Hispanic

Public Relations Association

of New York.

Jaclyn Crupi

Book editor, bookseller

and author

Jaclyn has worked in

the book industry and

publishing sphere since

2002. A graduate of

University of Melbourne

and RMIT, Jaclyn has

written numerous books for

both children and adults.

Her most recent book,

Garden Like a Nonno, was

shortlisted for an Indie Book

Award and longlisted for an

Australian Book Industry

Award. Jaclyn’s work has

appeared in The Guardian

and SBS Voices.

Rijn Collins

Writer and speaker

Rijn Collins is an award-

winning Australian writer

whose work has been been

included in Going Down

Swinging, Corium, Wigleaf,

The Big Issue, Verity La and

River Teeth Journal, among

others. She has performed

and spoken on panels at the

Melbourne Writers Festival,

the Emerging Writers

Festival, the Williamstown

Literary Festival and Write

Around the Murray Literary

Festival. Her short story,

Almost Flamboyant, won the

inaugural Sarah Awards for

International Audio Fiction in

New York.

Inala Cooper

Author, educator,

media commentator

Inala is a Human Rights Law

academic and an advocate

for Indigenous rights, access

to education and social

justice. She is a regular

contributor on ABC News

Breakfast and The Drum,

and a director of not-for-

proﬁt boards, including

Culture Is Life and the State

Library of Victoria. Her ﬁrst

book, Marrul: Aboriginal

Identity & the Fight for Rights

was published in 2022. Inala

is the Director of Murrup

Barak, the Melbourne

Institute for Indigenous

Development at University

of Melbourne.

Jane Clark

Curator, art historian,

writer and lecturer

Jane Clark is Senior

Research Curator at MONA,

Australia’s largest museum,

based in Hobart. She is

a former curator at the

National Gallery of Victoria

and for several years worked

an art expert at Sotheby’s.

At the NGV Jane was

responsible for exhibitions

including Golden Summers,

Heidelberg and beyond and

Sidney Nolan: Landscapes

and legends. Jane continues

to research and write on

19th and 20th-century

Australian art.

Mary

Ryllis Clark

Writer and historian

Mary Ryllis Clark is the

author of several books,

including the acclaimed

2018, A Tear in the Glass,

the biography of Australian

director and curator Nina

Stanton. From 1992 to 2005

Mary wrote a fortnightly

column in The Age titled

Historic Victoria. Her new

book Turning Points: 25

Remarkable Australians and

the Moments That Changed

Their Lives was published

by Monash University

Publishing in December.

Barrie Cassidy

Journalist, TV host

and presenter

Barrie Cassidy is one

of Australia’s ﬁnest

political journalists and

commentators. For many

years he was host of the

ABC current aairs program

Insiders, and its sporting

sibling Osiders. In 2018

Barrie was awarded a

Lifetime Achievement Award

by the Melbourne Press

Club. He is the author of

The Party Thieves: The Real

Story of the 2010 Election,

Private Bill: In Love and

War, and co-author of

A Collection of Interviews

from One Plus One.

Michael

Cathcart

Writer, historian, theatre

director and broadcaster

Historian Michael Cathcart is

a long-time ABC presenter

whose programs include

RN’s Arts Today and the

Radio National Quiz. He is

the author of Defending the

National Tuckshop (1988),

an abridgement of Manning

Clark’s epic A History of

Australia, an anthology of

Australian speeches, and

The Water Dreamers: The

Remarkable History of our

Dry Continent (2009). With

his wife, playwright Hannie

Rayson, he has devised

the Tribute To Clive James

event, one of our Festival’s

highlight sessions.

Anson

Cameron

Writer and

newspaper columnist

Anson Cameron is a

Melbourne-based author

whose ﬁrst published book

Nice Shootin’ Cowboy

was short-listed for a

Commonwealth Writers’

Prize in 1997. He has written

six critically acclaimed

novels, including the

bestseller Stealing Picasso.

He is a columnist for

The Age.

Jane Caro AM

Writer, lecturer and

social commentator

Jane Caro is an author,

writer, social commentator

and advertising industry

specialist. She has

published 12 books,

including Just a Girl (2022),

Just a Queen and Just Flesh

& Blood, and her recent

non-ﬁction work, Accidental

Feminists. Jane is on the

boards of the NSW Public

Education Foundation, and

Bell Shakespeare. She is

also an ambassador for the

National Secular Lobby. In

2018, Jane won the Women

in Leadership Award at the

2018 Walkley Awards.

Tim Burrowes

Publisher, media

commentator and author

Tim is an award-winning

editor, writer and occasional

early-stage investor based

in Tasmania. He is the

author of Media Unmade,

(2021) which explores the

evolution of the Australian

media industry. Tim was

the founder of Australian

industry website Mumbrella,

where he worked for

13 years and is now the

owner and editor of media

and marketing industry

publication Unmade, which

analyses the world of media

and marketing through an

Australian lens. He is the

proprietor of media industry

newsletter Unmade, which

is organising Australia’s ﬁrst

conference on the impact

of AI on the media industry:

humAIn - human creativity

Tim Byrne

Tim Byrne is an arts journalist,

performing arts critic and

bookseller at Avenue

Bookstore. His work appears

regularly in The Guardian,

Australian Book Review and

Time Out Melbourne where

he reviews theatre, ﬁlm,

dance and literature. He has

been a judge of the Victorian

Premier’s Literary Awards and

is a regular guest on Jacinta

Parson’s Afternoons on

774. For many years, he has

conducted in-store interviews

with authors, including Tim

Winton, Tom Keneally and

Magda Szubanski. Tim is

currently working on a novel.

Dr Marita

Bullock

Academic, teacher and

children’s book author

Marita Bullock has

worked as an academic

and secondary school

teacher across the ﬁelds

of cultural studies, ﬁlm,

art and literature, and is a

lecturer at the University

of Tasmania. Marita has

published numerous

articles on art and the

visualisation of ‘dierence’

and is the author of Memory

Fragments: Visualising

Dierence in Australian

History (2012). She is co-

author of Tasmania Living

(Thames and Hudson 2022)

and two children’s books for

publisher Hachette.

Ewan Burnett

Film producer, lecturer and

screen industry board member

Ewan Burnett has worked in

Australian ﬁlm and television

for more than 35 years. His

productions have won a

BAFTA, an EMMY, three AFI

Awards, four ATOM Awards,

a LOGIE and two AWGIE

awards. Ewan’s extensive

credits include the telemovie

The Mystery of a Hansom

Cab, the series Last Man

Standing and Small Time

Gangster, the children’s

series’ Round The Twist and

Lift O, and the animation

series Animalia. He also

produced the stage shows

Mum’s The Word, Mum’s

The Word 2: Teenagers!

For all Festival book purchases and author signings, please visit Avenue Bookstore

at Sorrento Writers Festival Level One, The Continental Hotel, Sorrento / avenuebookstore.com.au

26 27

Our Speakers and Moderators

Speakers and Moderators Speakers and Moderators

Dr Marie

Geissler

Art historian and author

An art historian with

a specialist interest in

Indigenous Australian art,

Marie is senior researcher

at the National Museum

of Australia. She is on the

board of the Australian

South Sea Islanders Port

Jackson branch and is

an advisor to the UTS

Law School’s Indigenous

Knowledge Forum. Marie

is the author of the new

Thames and Hudson

publication Dreaming the

Land, Aboriginal Art From

Remote Australia (2022).

Dr Joëlle

Gergis

Climate scientist and author

Joëlle Gergis is an award-

winning climate scientist

and writer at the Australian

National University. She is

an internationally recognised

expert in Australian and

Southern Hemisphere

climate variability and

change. Her research

focuses on providing a

long-term historical context

for assessing recently

observed climate variability

and extremes. Joëlle’s latest

book, Humanity’s Moment:

A Climate Scientist’s Case

for Hope, has just been

published.

Chris Flynn

Writer and author

Chris Flynn is the author

of Mammoth, Here Be

Leviathans, The Glass

Kingdom and A Tiger in

Eden. He is Editor-in-

Residence at Museums

Victoria and is the creator

of Horridus: Journey of a

Triceratops, and Horridus

and the Hidden Valley.

Chris’s writing has appeared

in The Guardian, The Age,

The Australian, Meanjin and

other publications.

Kerry

Gardner AM

Filmmaker, philanthropist,

author and gender equality

advocate

Kerry Gardner is a

documentary ﬁlm maker

with a background in the

arts, philanthropy and

not-for-proﬁt leadership.

She has served as Deputy

Chair of Heide Museum

of Modern Art, is a former

Director of the Museum of

Contemporary Art Australia,

and recently served as

Chair of the Australia

at the Venice Biennale

committee. Kerry also works

as a global champion for

gender equality with the

Global Fund for Women. She

was awarded an Order of

Australia in 2018.

Heather Ewart

TV presenter and journalist

Heather Ewart is an award-

winning journalist and the

popular host of ABC-TV’s

Back Roads. During her

four decades as an ABC

journalist, Heather has taken

on a number of senior roles,

including senior political

reporter for ﬂagship TV

and radio news and current

aairs programs, and as

a foreign correspondent

posted to London,

Washington and Brussels.

With Karen Michelmore, she

is the co-author of the book

Back Roads.

Dr Kirstin

Ferguson AM

Business executive,

thinker and author

Kirstin Ferguson holds a

PhD in corporate culture,

leadership and governance.

She is an adjunct professor

at the QUT Faculty of

Business and Law, and in

2021 was named by the

London-based Thinkers50

as one of the world’s top 30

“Thinkers to Watch”. Kirstin

writes a weekly column in

The Age and is the author

of two books, including her

new bestseller Head and

Heart–The Art of Modern

Leadership.

Mish Eisen

Producer, project manager

and podcaster

Mish Eisen is a founder and

co-presenter of From the

Hip podcast. For more than

25 years Mish has worked

in the creative industries

space – as arts producer,

project manager, architect,

exhibition designer and

founder of not-for-proﬁt art

initiatives. She is now with

Renew Initiatives Australia.

Professor

Tim Entwisle

Botanist, public gardens

director and author

Tim Entwisle is the

retiring Director of the

Royal Botanic Gardens

Victoria and an honorary

professorial fellow at the

University of Melbourne.

A regular contributor to

the ABC radio program

Blueprint for Living, Tim

also writes blogs on plants

and articles for Gardening

Australia. His 2022 memoir

Evergreen: The Botanic Life

of a Plant Punk traverses

his experiences as director

of Royal Botanic Gardens in

Sydney, Kew (London) and

Melbourne, as well as his life

inﬂuences and perspectives,

and the role of public

gardens.

Pip Drysdale

Author, musician and actor

Pip Drysdale grew up

in Africa, Canada, and

Australia. Her debut novel,

The Sunday Girl, was a

bestseller and has been

published in the United

States, Australia, Italy,

Poland, the Czech Republic,

and Slovakia. The Strangers

We Know was shortlisted

for The Ned Kelly Award

and is being developed

for television. Her fourth

book, The Next Girl, was

released in December 2022

in Australian and will be

published internationally

this year.

Dr Jane Eckett

Art historian and curator

Jane Eckett is an art

historian, curator and

Postdoctoral Research

Associate in the School of

Culture and Communication

at the University of

Melbourne. She holds a

Masters of Letters (MLitt)

from Trinity College

Dublin and a PhD from the

University of Melbourne,

awarded in 2017. Her

research focuses on

modernist sculpture, public

art and memorials, diaspora

art and émigré networks.

Garry Disher

Author

Garry Disher has published

more than 50 prize-winning

and widely translated

books across a range of

genres—from crime thrillers,

to literary/general novels,

short-story collections,

Young Adult, children’s

ﬁction, and writers’

handbooks. His recent titles

include the novel, Her, the

ninth Wyatt thriller, Kill Shot,

the stand-alone crime novel,

The Way it is Now, and Day’s

End, (2022) the fourth in the

Hirsch series.

Laureate

Professor

Peter

Doherty AC

Nobel laureate,

researcher and author

In 1996 Peter Doherty

shared the Nobel Prize in

Physiology or Medicine for

discovering the nature of the

cellular immune defence.

Based at the University of

Melbourne, he continues

to be involved in research

directed at understanding

and preventing the severe

consequences of inﬂuenza

virus infection. He has

published six books for

general readers, including

his 2022 memoir Empire,

War, Tennis and Me.

Rhett Davis

Writer, teacher and

digital project manager

Rhett Davis is a writing and

literature academic, and a

business/process analyst

and project manager in

software implementation,

development, and IT

strategic planning. Rhett has

an MFA for the University of

British Columbia and PhD

in creative writing at Deakin

University. His work has

been published in The Age,

Meanjin, The Big Issue and

other publications and in

2020 he won the Victorian

Premier’s Literary Award for

an unpublished manuscript

for Hovering, published by

Hachette Australia in 2022.

Monique

diMattina

Singer, songwriter, musician,

composer and producer

One of our Festival

highlights is the sneak

preview of Stella, a musical

by Melbourne composer and

musician Monique diMattina,

based on the life of Stella

Maria Sarah Miles Franklin.

After living in the US for

several years, Monique

returned to Melbourne

in 2009 where she has

released seven albums to

critical acclaim. She is a

Yamaha artist and mother

of two, and teaches in the

Melbourne Conservatorium

and Monash University jazz

departments.

Ian Darling AO

Documentary ﬁlmmaker,

producer and board member

Ian Darling is the

executive director of

Shark Island Institute and

its production arm, Shark

Island Productions. He is

a recipient of the AACTA

Byron Kennedy Award for

innovation and the relentless

pursuit of excellence. Ian

was Founder and Chair

of Documentary Australia

Foundation and Good Pitch

Australia and is a Member

of the Impact Partners

Advisory Board in New York.

Jim

Davidson AM

Historian, biographer

and editor

Former editor of Meanjin,

academic and opera

critic, Jim Davidson is the

author of the new MUP

dual biography Emperors

in Lilliput: Clem Christesen

of Meanjin and Stephen

Murray-Smith of Overland.

Jim is the author of two

other biographies – Lyrebird

Rising: Louise Hanson-Dyer

of Oiseau-Lyre, (1884–1962)

and A Three-Cornered Life:

The Historian WK Hancock,

which won the Prime

Minister’s Prize for Australian

History, a WA Premier’s

Award, and The Age Book

of the Year for non-ﬁction.

For all Festival book purchases and author signings, please visit Avenue Bookstore

at Sorrento Writers Festival Level One, The Continental Hotel, Sorrento / avenuebookstore.com.au

28 29

Our Speakers and Moderators

Speakers and Moderators Speakers and Moderators

Celia Hirsh

Journalist, broadcaster

and podcaster

Celia Hirsh is a journalist

and broadcaster who

has worked in radio and

television, including

National Nine News and

the ABC. Lately she’s been

podcasting for Igniting

Change, a Melbourne-

based charity, and also

launched the Philanthropod

podcast for the Australian

International Development

Network. A keen writer,

Celia contributes questions

for Working Dog’s weekly

comedy TV quiz show, Have

You Been Paying Attention?

Simon Holmes

à Court

Climate activist, businessman

and philanthropist

Victorian-based Simon

Holmes à Court is a

convenor of Climate

200, an organisation that

supports political candidates

committed to a science-

based approach to climate

change and to restoring

integrity in politics. He

is a senior advisor to the

Climate and Energy College

at Melbourne University,

a director of the Smart

Energy Council, and is a

director of the philanthropic

organisation Australian

Environmental Grant-makers

Network.

Megan Hess

Writer and Illustrator

Melbourne illustrator and

artist Megan Hess has

written and illustrated

22 books for children and

adults, including Fashion

House, The Dress and Coco

Chanel, New York, Paris,

and Claris: The Chicest

Mouse in Paris. As a fashion

illustrator, her clients include

Dior, Vanity Fair, Givenchy,

Tiany & Co, Wedgwood,

Chopard, Vogue, Louis

Vuitton, Montblanc,

Harpers Bazaar, Fendi,

Prada and Cartier.

Hilde Hinton

Author

Melbourne writer Hilde

Hinton’s 2020 debut novel

The Loudness of Unsaid

Things was a bestseller.

She has since published

two further novels: Heroes

Next Door and A Solitary

Walk on The Moon. Hilde

describes herself as “iving

in a boisterous house in

Melbourne with a revolving

door for the temporarily

defeated”, and she “takes

great pride in people leaving

slightly better than when

they arrived”.

Debbie Haski-

Leventhal

Academic and author

Debbie Haski-Leventhal

is a professor of business

management and the MBA

Director at Macquarie

University. She dedicates

her teaching, research,

and knowledge to creating

impact and enabling others

to ﬁnd meaningfulness and

purpose. Debbie is editor-in-

chief of Society and Business

Review and has published

more than 60 academic

articles, four books and is

a TED talk author. Her most

recent book is Making It

Meaningful: Finding Purpose

in Life and Work.

Eliza

Henry-Jones

Author, farmer

and grief counsellor

Yarra Valley writer Eliza

Henry-Jones’ latest novel

Salt and Skin was published

in August 2022. She is the

author of In the Quiet, Ache

and the young adult novels,

P is for Pearl and How

to Grow a Family Tree.

Eliza’s novels have been

listed for awards including

the Readings Prize for

New Australian Fiction,

QLD Literary Award, NSW

Premier’s Award, Indie Award,

ABIA and CBCA Awards.

Eliza’s short ﬁction, non-

ﬁction and features have

been published widely across

magazines and newspapers.

Joan-Maree

Hargreaves

Multi-platform digital

producer, writer,

videographer, author

Tasmanian-based Joan-

Maree Hargreaves has

worked in publishing and

magazines and has edited

a number of Australian

and international children’s

titles. She is inspired by

the bravery and optimism

of children and driven

by a desire to tell stories

about ‘real’ life in a visually

captivating and unexpected

way. Joan-Maree has co-

authored two children’s

books, The Big Book of

Festivals, and The Big Book

of Exhibits. Her latest book is

Tasmania Living, published

in September 2022.

Jane Harper

Author

Jane Harper is one of

Australia’s most successful

international authors, with

fans around the world. The

author of bestsellers The

Dry, Force of Nature, The

Lost Man, The Survivors and

Exiles, Jane’s publishing

awards include the CWA

Gold Dagger for Best

Crime Novel, the British

Book Awards Crime and

Thriller Book of the Year,

the Australian Book Industry

Awards Book of the Year and

the Australian Indie Awards

Book of the Year.

Jacinta

Halloran

Author and retired medical

general practitioner

Jacinta Halloran’s new novel,

Resistance, published in

March 2023, follows nearly

two decades of writing and

working in general practice.

Her novel, Dissection, was

shortlisted for the 2007

Victorian Premier’s Literary

Award for an Unpublished

Manuscript, and Pilgrimage,

shortlisted for the 2014

Barbara Jeeris Award.

Chris Hammer

Crime writer and journalist

Before turning to crime

ﬁction, Chris was a journalist

for more than 30 years. He is

the author of the celebrated

Martin Scarsden series:

Scrublands, Silver and Trust.

Scrublands was an instant

bestseller upon publication in

2018, topping the Australian

ﬁction charts, and was

shortlisted for major writing

awards in Australia, Britain

and the United States. It was

named Sunday Times Crime

Novel of the Year in 2019

and won the prestigious UK

Crime Writers’ Association

John Creasey (New Blood)

Dagger Award.

Fiona Gruber

Writer and broadcaster

Writer and producer

Fiona Gruber is a regular

contributor to print and radio

media on arts and culture.

She contributes to the Times

Literary Supplement (UK)

and her arts and history

features appear regularly on

ABC Radio National.

Fiona won a Green Room

Award in 2005 for Gert’s

Sunday Salon, (2004-2010)

which she co-founded as a

home for eclectic cabaret,

burlesque, music and

comedy.

Light Field, Her monograph

on installation artist

Bruce Munro, is due out

in November 2023 and is

published by UK publishers

Lund Humphries

Yvonne

Hackett

After selling her ethical

chemical company of 31

years last year Yvonne

Hackett has found a deep

and respectful love for

living o the land in East

Gippsland — and rescuing

farm animals. She is the

author of two children’s

books Where Do Odd Socks

Go? and Naughty Socks

In Peru and has been a

member of Corrie’s book

club for over 13 years.

Irma Gold

Author, editor

and interviewer

Irma Gold is a Mornington

Peninsula award-winning

author and editor. Her debut

novel, The Breaking, won

the Writing NSW Varuna

Fellowship and the Canberra

Critics Circle Award, and

was shortlisted for the

ACT Notable Award for

Fiction. Irma is also a short

story writer and the author

of ﬁve picture books for

children. Passionate about

childhood literacy, Irma is

an Ambassador for the ACT

Chief Minister’s Reading

Challenge.

Robert Gott

Author

Robert Gott was born in

the Queensland town of

Maryborough in 1957, and

lives in Melbourne. He has

published many books for

children, and is also the

creator of the newspaper

cartoon The Adventures

of Naked Man. He is the

author of the William Power

series of crime-caper

novels set in 1940s Australia,

including Good Murder,

A Thing of Blood, The Port

Fairy Murders, The Autumn

Murders, and The Orchard

Murders.

Ray Gill

Digital producer and

newsroom managing editor

A former long-time Arts

Editor at The Age, Ray is

the creator of The Daily

Review arts news website

(formed in 2013) which last

year was nominated for

a Walkley Award for Arts

Journalism and has 70,000

subscribers. Ray regularly

appears on Sky-TV and ABC

radio discussing arts issues.

He also produces live

Masterclasses and works

in the corporate sphere

creating content for clients.

Jane Godwin

Children’s book author and

former publisher

Jane Godwin has written

more than 30 books for

children. She is one of

Australia’s best-known

children’s book authors and

is published internationally.

Jane’s long list of awards

and nominations includes

the Queensland Premier’s

Award (Children’s Books),

and the Aurealis Award.

Jane is a former children’s

publisher at Penguin Books,

Australia.

For all Festival book purchases and author signings, please visit Avenue Bookstore

at Sorrento Writers Festival Level One, The Continental Hotel, Sorrento / avenuebookstore.com.au

30 31

Our Speakers and Moderators

Speakers and Moderators Speakers and Moderators

University. Her recent works

include A Letter to Layla:

Travels to our deep past

and near future (2020) and

Bloodhound: Searching for

My Father (2015).

Kylie Ladd

Novelist, psychologist

and freelance writer

Kylie Ladd has published

six novels and two works of

non-ﬁction. This year saw

the release of I’ll Leave you

With This (Penguin). Her ﬁve

previous novels have been

published in Australia and

overseas, and The Way Back

(2017), has been optioned

for ﬁlm. In February she

successfully completed her

second Pier to Perignon

swim.

Soﬁe Laguna

Writer

In 2015 Melbourne writer

Soﬁe Laguna won the Miles

Franklin Award for her

second novel for adults,

The Eye of the Sheep

(Penguin). Her third adult

novel The Choke won the

2018 Indie Award in Best

Novel category. Soﬁe’s

most recent work, Inﬁnite

Splendours won the 2021

Margaret and Colin Roderick

Literary Award and the HT

Priestly Medal. Soﬁe also

writes children’s books and

the Children’s Book Council

has named several of her

titles as Honour Books and

Notable Books.

Booker Prize in 1972. He has

twice won the Miles Franklin

Award, and in 1983 he was

made an Ocer of the Order

of Australia.

Dave King

CEO, creator, inventor

and innovator

Dave King is the CEO and

founder of Move 37, a

Melbourne-based creative

artiﬁcial intelligence start-

up. He is passionately

optimistic about the capacity

for creative humans to

discover new ways of

working with machines.

He has spent the past 20

years creating product,

media and technology,

founding and growing the

highly regarded creativity

and technology company,

The Royals. He believes

emergent technologies can

help humans and machines

achieve more than either

could alone.

Ramona

Koval

Writer, journalist,

broadcaster

Ramona Koval is perhaps

best known in Melbourne

for her many years as a

broadcaster on the ABC, but

in the years since she hung

up headphones, she has

authored ﬁction, non-ﬁction,

edited essay collections and

is an Honorary Fellow in the

School of Communication

and Creative Arts at Deakin

Stuart Kells

Writer and author

Stuart Kells has written on

a wide range of subjects

including libraries, publishing,

professional services and

diamond mining. A University

of Melbourne alumnus, he

delivered the 2018 Jean

Whyte Lecture and the 2022

Murray Lecture. His history of

Penguin Books, Penguin and

the Lane Brothers, won the

Ashurst Business Literature

Prize in 2015. His book The

Library: A Catalogue of

Wonders was shortlisted

for the Prime Minister’s

literary award and the NSW

Premier’s general history

prize. He is Adjunct Professor

at La Trobe University’s

College of Arts, Social

Sciences and Commerce,

and his latest book, MUP:

A Centenary History was

published in February.

To m

Keneally AO

Novelist, playwright,

essayist and actor

Tom Keneally is an

Australian National Living

Treasure, well-known for

his Booker Prize winning

non-ﬁction novel Schindler’s

Ark, which was adapted into

Academy Award winning

ﬁlm, Schindler’s List, in

1993, by Steven Spielberg.

Many of his novels are

concerned with historical

events, including The Chant

of Jimmie Blacksmith, which

was shortlisted for the

Patricia

Karvelas

Radio present, journalist

and podcast co-host

Patricia Karvelas hosts

ABC’s RN Breakfast on

Radio National. She was

born in Australia to Greek

migrants, who had moved to

Melbourne in the late 1960s.

As a teenager, Patricia

joined the community radio

station 3CR Melbourne

where she hosted programs

such as Wednesday

Breakfast and Girl Zone. By

the age of 15 she was also

a guest presenter at 3RRR,

then gained a cadetship at

The Australian where she

worked for many years.

Patricia joined the ABC

in 2015.

Christine

Keighery

Writer

Christine Keighery (who

also writes as Chrissie

Perry) is the author of more

than 35 novels for children

and Young Adults. Chrissie

wrote 13 books in the hugely

successful Go Girl! Series.

Her YA title, Whisper, won a

White Raven and IBBY award

and was shortlisted for the

CBCA and the WA Premier’s

Awards. Her work has been

published in 10 countries,

including the US, UK, Spain,

Brazil, Slovenia, and Korea.

Her new book The Half

Brother is her ﬁrst novel

for adults.

Dr Barry

Jones AC

Teacher, lawyer, social

activist, former politician

and author

Since he ﬁrst entered our

lives via TV sets in the 1960s

as the Pick-A-Box champion,

Barry Jones, who turned

90 last year, has played a

signiﬁcant role in Australian

social, academic and political

life. The Sorrento Writers

Festival is delighted to host

the annual Barry Jones

Oration—to be delivered

each year by a distinguished

Australian, and which will

honour Barry’s immense

contribution as a writer,

activist, former politician and

ocial Australian National

Living Treasure.

Toni Jordan

Writer

Toni Jordan is a celebrated

Melbourne author whose

novels include Addition,

which was longlisted for the

2009 Miles Franklin Award,

Nine Days, which was

awarded Best Fiction at the

2012 Indie Awards and was

named in Kirkus Review’s

top 10 Historical Novels of

2013, and Our Tiny, Useless

Hearts, which was long-

listed for the International

Dublin Literary Award.

Pirooz Jafari

Lawyer and author

Born in Iran, Pirooz Jafari

migrated to Australia in the

late 1990s. His experience

of witnessing violations of

human rights throughout

his childhood, adolescence

and young adult life in Iran

ignited a passion in him

to pursue legal studies. In

2003 Pirooz graduated as

a lawyer and now works in

various community-based

organisations and statutory

bodies in Melbourne. Forty

Nights is his ﬁrst literary

ﬁction novel.

Dr Honorée

Fannone

Jeffers

Fiction writer, poet, essayist

Honorée Fanonne Jeers

is the author of ﬁve poetry

collections, including the

2020 collection The Age of

Phillis, which won the NAACP

Image Award for Outstanding

Literary Work in Poetry and

the Lenore Marshall Poetry

Prize, was long-listed for the

National Book Award for

Poetry, and was a ﬁnalist for

the PEN/Voelcker Award, the

George Washington Prize,

and the Los Angeles Times

Book Prize. Her ﬁrst novel,

The Love Songs of WEB Du

Bois was published in 2021 to

critical acclaim.

Gill

Hutchinson

Surfer and author

Former Melbourne resident

Gill Hutchison was in her

30s and working in the

publishing industry when the

surﬁng bug bit. She decided

to make a sea change, move

to the Surf Coast and learn

to surf. In 2012 Gill bought

a 1960s shack and not long

after landed her dream job

in a bookshop. In 2013,

with photographer Willem-

Dirk du Toit, she created @

babesonwaves Instagram

account. Their new book

Surf Life is inspired by

women surfers’ stories and

was published last year.

Associate

Professor

Alison Inglis

Art academic,

lecturer and curator

Alison Inglis is Associate

Professor in Art History

in the School of Culture

and Communication at the

University of Melbourne and

Co-Director of the Australian

Institute of Art History.

Her research interests

include 19th Century British

and Australian art and

the history of collections

and exhibitions. She is a

member of Museums Board

of Victoria (2015 to present),

a former Heide Museum of

Modern Art board director,

and a former National

Gallery of Victoria trustee.

Chloe Hooper

Author

Melbourne writer Chloe

Hooper is one of Australia’s

ﬁnest non-ﬁction writers.

Her 2008 bestseller The Tall

Man: Death and Life on Palm

Island won the Victorian,

New South Wales, West

Australian and Queensland

Premiers’ Literary Awards,

as well as the John Button

Prize for Political Writing,

and a Ned Kelly Award for

crime writing. She is also

the author of A Child’s

Book of True Crime and

The Engagement. Her most

recent book, Bedtime Story,

was published in 2022.

Russel

Howcroft

Radio host, author and

former media executive

A keen supporter of the

Sorrento Writers Festival,

Russel Howcroft gained

prominence as a panellist on

the ABC television program

The Gruen Transfer. He is a

former advertising executive

and from 2013-2017 he was

executive general manager

of Network Ten. He is co-host

of Breakfast with Ross &

Russel on 3AW, Chair of the

Australian Film Television

and Radio School, and the

co-founder of The Grid

Melbourne, a festival designed

to bring entrepreneurs and

innovators together expected

to launch in 2022. He has also

written three books.

For all Festival book purchases and author signings, please visit Avenue Bookstore

at Sorrento Writers Festival Level One, The Continental Hotel, Sorrento / avenuebookstore.com.au

32 33

Our Speakers and Moderators

Speakers and Moderators Speakers and Moderators

Paddy

Manning

Writer, journalist

Paddy Manning is the

author of several award-

winning books, including

biographies of Malcolm

Turnbull and Nathan Tinkler.

He has won several awards

for journalistic excellence

and his book, Body Count,

won the 2021 Victorian

Premier’s Literary Award

for Nonﬁction. His latest

release, The Successor: The

High-Stakes Life of Lachlan

Murdoch (2022), is still on

many bookstores’ current

bestseller lists.

Thomas Mayo

Writer, children book author

and First nations campaigner

Thomas Mayo is a Torres

Strait Islander man born

on Larrakia country in

Darwin. Following the

Uluru Convention, Thomas

was entrusted to carry the

sacred canvas of the Uluru

Statement from the Heart.

He then embarked on an

18-month journey around the

country to garner support for

a constitutionally enshrined

First Nations voice. Thomas

is the author of Finding The

Heart of The Nation (2019),

Dear Son (2021) and the

best-selling children’s books

Finding Our Heart (2020)

and Freedom Day ( 2021).

and became chair of the

Department of Journalism

within a year. A former

ABC radio host, Ranald is a

passionate ABC advocate.

Sarah Malik

Journalist, author, presenter

Sarah Malik is an

investigative reporter, whose

Walkley award-winning

work focuses on asylum,

surveillance technology and

its intersection with gender

and race. She has written

two books: a Desi Girl: On

feminism, Race, Faith and

Belonging (2022) and Safar:

Muslim women’s stories of

travel and transformation

(also 2022). Sarah currently

presents and writes for SBS

Voices and collected gold

at the Australian Podcast

awards for the SBS Podcast

Let Me Tell You.

Kirsty

Manning

Author

Melbourne writer Kirsty

Manning is the best-selling

author of The French Gift,

The Lost Jewels and The

Jade Lily (published in

North America and UK

as The Song of the Jade

Lily). Her historical novels

have been published in

Australia and New Zealand,

North America, UK, South

Africa and translated into

several languages including

German, Dutch, Hebrew,

Russian and Serbian.

The

Honorable

Patricia

Macdonald

Curator and art historian

Patricia Tryon Macdonald

is an independent curator

whose career started at

Christie’s auction house

in the 1960s. Moving to

Melbourne in the mid-1970s,

she became Christie’s

Melbourne representative

in 1988. After a stint in the

US, Patricia returned to

Melbourne and curated

the acclaimed Exiles and

Emigrants: Epic Journeys to

Australia in the Victorian Era,

National Gallery of Victoria,

Melbourne (2005-2006) and

For Auld Lang Syne: Images

of Scottish Australia from First

Fleet to Federation, at the Art

Gallery of Ballarat (2014).

Ranald

Macdonald AO

Media commentator, former

newspaper executive and

journalism academic

Great-grandson of David

Syme, the legendary 19th

Century proprietor and

editor of The Age, Ranald

Macdonald was appointed

the newspaper’s managing

director in 1964, aged 26.

After leaving the company

in 1983, Ranald was

appointed an associate

professor at RMIT, then in

1987 he accepted a faculty

position at Boston University

Tim

L’ E st r a n ge

Lawyer and

former bank executive

Tim is Partner-in-Charge

at Jones Day’s Melbourne

oce and a partner of the

Global Disputes team. Tim

is responsible for some

of the most long-standing

insolvency litigations in the

country and was actively

involved in the Royal

Commission into Banking

and Finance. Prior to joining

Jones Day, Tim was a Senior

Executive with ANZ Bank,

where he was successively

Group General Counsel,

Managing Director of ANZ

in Europe and America, and

Global Head of Governance.

Stephen Lunn

Journalist

Stephen Lunn is The

Australian’s Social Aairs

Editor, and covers social

policy issues including

ageing, disability, welfare,

immigration and population

policy. Stephen has served

as the paper’s environment

writer and its Tokyo

correspondent. He has

also worked in public

policy advocacy in the

private sector and practised

as a lawyer in Australia

and the UK.

her most recent book, a

memoir titled Inﬁdelity and

Other Aairs has been on

the national bestseller list

since its release in March.

Chip

Le Grand

Journalist and author

Melbourne-based journalist

Chip Le Grand wrote for The

Australian for many years

before joining The Age in

2019 as its chief reporter.

In 2015 Chip won the

Walkley Book Award for

The Straight Dope, the

inside story of the Essendon

and Cronulla supplements

scandals. Chip’s 2022 book

Lockdown is an important

account of Melbourne’s

response to the COVID-19

pandemic.

and the Boonwurrung

Foundation, Lionel conducts

a range of programs - from

walks on country, smoking

ceremonies, to talks and

education programs. The

Sorrento Writers Festival

thanks Lionel for his opening

night Welcome to Country.

Michael

Lavarch AO

Lawyer, academic and

former Federal politician

Michael Lavarch is Emeritus

Professor at Queensland

University of Technology

and is a former Member of

Federal Parliament from

1987-1996, having served

as Australia’s Attorney-

General between 1993 and

1996. Since August 2020

he has served as co-chair,

with Jackie Huggins, of

the Eminent Panel for the

Indigenous treaty process

in Queensland. With his wife,

Larissa Behrendt, Michael

runs a ﬁlm production

company and serves on a

number of boards.

Kate Legge

Journalist and author

Kate Legge is an award-

winning journalist who has

worked for The Age and The

Australian newspapers. Her

ﬁrst novel, The Unexpected

Elements of Love, (2006)

was long-listed for the Miles

Franklin Award. Her second

novel The Marriage Club,

received critical praise and

Professor

Marcia

Langton AO

Anthropologist and

geographer, Indigenous

rights activist

As co-chair of the Senior

Advisory Group of the

Indigenous Voice to

Government, Professor

Marcia Langton is

deeply connected to

the referendum. Marcia

worked for the 1989 Royal

Commission into Aboriginal

Deaths in Custody. In

2012 she delivered the

Boyer Lectures and has

been on the panel for the

Horne Prize since its 2016

inception. Marcia has held

the Foundation Chair of

Australian Indigenous

Studies at the University of

Melbourne for the past 23

years and she is a Patron

of the Sorrento Writers

Festival.

Lionel Lauch

Artist, community leader and

First Nations knowledge and

cultural heritage teacher

Lionel Lauch is a

Gunditjmara Kirrae

Wurrung-Bundjalung man,

a practising artist, and the

founder and ceo of Living

Culture, a community

organisation dedicated to

developing and promoting

the Mornington Peninsula’s

rich First Nations heritage.

Working in agreement with

the Bunurong Land Council

Kathy Lane

Public relations and podcaster

Kathy is a founder and co-

presenter of From the Hip

podcast. She is a public

relations specialist who has

worked with high-proﬁle,

premium global brands,

organising launches and

events and building media

proﬁle. For more than 25

years she has worked with

wine industry, food and

lifestyle clients and is now

with Communicado.

Samantha

Lane

Journalist and author

Well-known as a sports

journalist, Sam dipped her

toe into the literary world

with Roar (2018) an account

of the creation of the AFLW

competition. Her next

subject is one of that code’s

stars, Erin Phillips, and is

due out next year. Sam has

won a Walkley Award and

two Quill Awards. Sam is

a member of the Board of

Directors of The Chappell

Foundation, raising funds

for homeless youth. She

sits on Sydney’s AFLW

steering committee and

is an ambassador for

Flourish Australia.

For all Festival book purchases and author signings, please visit Avenue Bookstore

at Sorrento Writers Festival Level One, The Continental Hotel, Sorrento / avenuebookstore.com.au

34 35

Our Speakers and Moderators

Speakers and Moderators Speakers and Moderators

Sally Rippin

Children’s book author

Sally Rippin is Australia’s

highest-selling female

author and has written

more than 100 books for

children and young adults.

Her widely popular books

are loved by children around

the world and have sold

more than 10 million copies

in 18 countries. Sally loves

to write stories with heart

and characters that resonate

with children, parents and

teachers alike.

Megan Rogers

Author

Megan Rogers began her

working life as an editorial

assistant at Allen & Unwin,

before moving to the

State Library of Victoria,

in Marketing. In 2014

Megan ﬁnished a PhD in

Creative Writing at RMIT,

which resulted in the book,

Finding the Plot, A Maternal

Approach to Madness in

Literature published by

feminist publisher Demeter

Press. She also has a

Bachelor of Arts/Science

(Monash), a Diploma of

Professional Writing &

Editing (RMIT), a Graduate

Diploma in Professional

Communication (Deakin),

and a Masters of Marketing

(Monash). Megan lives in

the Mornington Peninsula

outside Melbourne. The

Heart is a Star is her ﬁrst

novel.

Charlotte Ree

Cook and author

Charlotte Ree is an avid

baker and recipe developer

with an impressive online

following. Based in Sydney,

Australia, she develops

recipes and content for

brands such as Marimekko,

Kenwood and Williams-

Sonoma. A former publishing

media manager, Charlotte

has just published her

second book, Heartbake: A

bittersweet memoir.

Nicholas

Reece

Melbourne Deputy

Lord Mayor, councillor

and academic

Nicholas Reece is

Melbourne Deputy Lord

Mayor. He was elected

to the City of Melbourne

Council in 2016 and has

served as Deputy Lord

Mayor since November

2020. Nick is an executive in

Chancellery at the University

of Melbourne and holds

an academic position of

principal fellow and teaches

at the Melbourne School

of Government. He is also

the former chairman of

global men’s health charity

Movember, which has

raised nearly $1.2 billion for

prostate cancer and men’s

mental health.

Jess Racklyeft

Illustrator and

children’s book author

Jess Racklyeft is an

illustrator based in

Melbourne. Her original

illustrations have featured

in greeting cards, children’s

picture books, original

paintings, prints and all

types of dierent client

projects. Jess loves

watercolours, and two of the

books she has illustrated

– Merry Everything and

Smile Cry, have gone on to

become CBCA notables. In

February, Jess was awarded

a Society of Children’s Book

Writers and illustrators

International Bologna

Scholarship.

Hannie

Rayson

Playwright, screenwriter,

presenter and author

Hannie Rayson is one of

Australia’s most gifted

playwrights. Her multi

award-winning works

include Hotel Sorrento

(which later became an

acclaimed ﬁlm), Inheritance

and Life After George.

Hannie has been awarded

two Australian Writers’ Guild

Awards, four Helpmann

Awards, two NSW Premier’s

Literary Awards and a

Victorian Premier’s Literary

Award. Her play Life After

George was the ﬁrst play to

be nominated for the Miles

Franklin Literary Award.

Professor

Patricia

Piccinini

Artist

Patricia Piccinini is an

Australian artist whose

works focus on “unexpected

consequences”, conveying

concerns surrounding

bio ethics and helping

visualise future dystopias. In

2003 Patricia represented

Australia at the 50th Venice

Biennale with a hyperrealist

sculpture of her distinctive

anthropomorphic animals.

In 2016 The Art Newspaper

named Patricia Piccinini the

Sponsors

We gratefully acknowledge the support of our founding sponsors

who worked with us in delivering a community and cultural

event for the beneﬁt of Sorrento and beyond. Please support

those who support us.

Image: Pat Whelen (Unsplash)

48 49

Friends of the Festival

Sponsors

Friends of the Festival

A special heartfelt thanks

to the Founding Friends

of the Festival—a group

of remarkable women who

have brought their wisdom,

talent and time to our Festival

cause, and who have given so

generously in so many ways.

Kate Baillieu

Tania Brougham

Dene Buxton

Christine Clough

Caroline Cornish

Kate Dewhurst

Pia Di Mattina

Marg Downey

Celia Hirsh

Jane Hiscock

Penny Inge

Liz Jensen

Julie Kantor AO

Anna Koren

Wendy Kozica

Jane McCubbin

Susan Nathan

Sophie Patten

Kate Shelmerdine

Melinda Williams

Caroline Wilson

Anita Ziemer

From the merch store

The Continental

Sorrento

1/21 Ocean Beach Rd, Sorrento,

(03) 5935 1200

info@thecontinentalsorrento.com.au

Hotel Sorrento

5/15 Hotham Rd, Sorrento

(03) 5984 8000

hotelsorrento.com.au

Where to Stay/Eat/Shop

Where to Stay Where to Eat

ITALI.CO SORRENTO

1 Esplanade

BISTRO ELBA

100-102 Ocean Beach Rd

THE BATHS SORRENTO

3278 Point Nepean Road

BACK BEACH PIZZA

182 Ocean Beach Rd

SARDO SORRENTO

26 Ocean Beach Rd

LIMANI CAFÉ WINEBAR

3760 Point Nepean Rd, Portsea

Where to ﬁnd good coffee

 THE SISTERS KITCHEN

GARDEN CAFE

149-151 Ocean Beach Rd

BAKED IN PORTSEA

145 Hotham Rd

BUCKLEY SORRENTO

174 Ocean Beach Rd

STRINGERS SORRENTO

2-8 Ocean Beach Rd

 ST PAULS GENERAL STORE

69 St Pauls Rd

FLAT BLK

138 Ocean Beach Rd

 LE CAPUCIN

Shop 1/3770 Point Nepean Rd

Where to Shop

Bookshop

ANTIPODES GALLERY & BOOKSHOP

138 Ocean Beach Rd

AVENUE BOOKSTORE FESTIVAL

POP-UP

Mezzanine, Continental Hotel

1-21 Ocean Beach Road

Gifts & homewares

 CAPE MERCHANTS

96 Ocean Beach Rd

CAPE OUTDOOR

60 Kerferd Ave

COASTAL LIVING

77 Ocean Beach Rd

BIG CHAIR LIVING SORRENTO

119/125 Ocean Beach Rd

PROVINCIAL HOME LIVING

147 Ocean Beach Rd

Fashion

DEBS BOUTIQUE

24 Ocean Beach Rd

EMIA FASHION

50 Ocean Beach Rd

HERMAN STORE SORRENTO

3/58 Kerferd Ave

CABLE MELBOURNE

44 Ocean Beach Rd

CROSS CLASSICS SORRENTO

75 Ocean Beach Rd

VIKTORIA & WOODS SORRENTO

113 Ocean Beach Rd

HUSK SORRENTO

51 Ocean Beach Rd

COUNTRY ROAD - SORRENTO

10 Ocean Beach Rd

SALTWATER TR ADING

153-155 Ocean Beach Rd

SORRENTO COLLECTIVE

172 Ocean Beach Rd

What’s a Writers

Festival without a

take-home souvenir?

Jasmin Tulk, our ocial Sorrento Writers

Festival logo designer, and the team from

Monte Store have created this brilliant

Festival tote bag, plus our Festival t-shirt

(S, M, L, XL).

The canvas tote bag is $39.

The crew-neck short-sleeve

100% cotton t-shirt is $45.

You will ﬁnd them at our ocial Festival

stockist, Cape Merchants at 96 Ocean

Beach Road, Sorrento (ph: 5984 4641).

We also have a selection at the Avenue

Bookstore pop-up in The Continental Hotel.

The $5000 Sorrento

Creative Writing Prize

will be announced on

Friday, April 28 at

the conclusion of

The Barry Jones oration.

This is a free event and everyone is welcome.

The Festival thanks Future Leaders,

a national philanthropic initiative that

focuses on leadership and the future of

Australia, for this generous prize. And

congratulations to all entrants for their

creativity and engagement.

Creative

Writing Prize 2023

50 51

Where to Stay/Eat/Shop

From the merch store

Festival team

The Sorrento Writers Festival Incorporated is a registered

not-for-proﬁt charity. The entity is run by a Committee of Management

with the assistance of ﬁnancial advisory ﬁrm, the Kearney Group.

We are ﬁscally responsible, we believe in good governance, regular

reporting back to stakeholders, and although we plan within our means,

we dream big. And we give back to the community; the Festival will

be an employer of casual sta, volunteers and interns keen to gain

experience in the events-books-culture-hospitality spaces. Our goal

is to become a best-practice community cultural organisation, and one

that engenders pride and respect.

Business Address

Sorrento Writers Festival

Incorporated’s registered business

address is c/o Kearney Group,

Suite 137/425 Smith St, Fitzroy

VIC 3065

Postal Address

Sorrento Writers Festival

Incorporated

ABN 20 955 969 821

PO Box 277

Sorrento, Victoria, 3943

Email Address

hello@sorrentowritersfestival.com.au

The Sorrento Writers Festival Te a m

Committee of Management

PR ESIDENT: Corrie Perkin

SECRETARY: Gianna Totaro

TREASURER: John Rundell

MEMBER: Coco Carter

MEMBER: Francesca Carter

MEMBER: Peter Inge OAM

The Team

DIRECTOR: Corrie Perkin

GENERAL MANAGER: Gianna Totaro

PROGRAM ASSISTANT: Coco Carter

CHILDREN’S PROGRAM:

Francesca Carter

LEGAL ADVISOR: Peter Inge OAM

TREASURER: John Rundell

MEDIA: Project Hutton

TICKETING: Eileen Berry

FESTIVAL PROGRAM:

Geo Slattery, Managing Editor;

Kate Slattery, Designer

WEBSITE: Creative Chaos

IMAGES: Unsplash

FESTIVAL PHOTOGRAPHER:

Gena Ferguson

Support us

The Sorrento Writers Festival is

a not-for-proﬁt organisation that

relies on its community generosity

and foresight to achieve its goals.

If you would like to learn more or

become part of our journey, please

visit sorrentowritersfestival.com.au

and click on “support us”.

Notes

52 53

Festival team

Notes

RODNEY SCHAFFER

27 APR - 14 MAY, 2023

Nura Gallery proudly presents Rodney Schaer: Before The Deluge.

A photographic investigation of landscapes shot over two years in and around

The Heads and further north at Beaumaris in Southern Victoria, researching the

contested notions of the sublime and the beautiful, informed by historical and

contemporary approaches to landscape theory and image making.

A place of constant change, a theatre of possibility.

Coinciding with the ocial opening of Sorrento Writers Festival 2023.

Launching 27 of April from 6pm at Nura Gallery.

NURA GALLERY

136 OCEAN BEACH RD

SORRENTO, 3943

WWW.NURAGALLERY.COM.AU

OPENING RECEPTION:

THURS 27 APRIL, FROM 6PM

BEFORE THE DELUGE

Notes

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













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Sorrento Writers Festival PDF Free Download

Sorrento Writers Festival PDF free Download. Think more deeply and widely.

Uploaded by Thomas Ferguson on 5/4/2026

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